“MEASURING WHAT MATTERS: DECODING THE TANGIBILITY OF BUSINESS VALUES”
Seth Godin said: “People like us do things like this”
The SlightlySkew business design method requires a business to intentionally define its aspirations along its journey to become extraordinary. As the business leader your hope is that your meticulously crafted aspirations will inspire both your team and your customers alike. A key aspect forming part of your aspirations is identifying the core values that you want the world to associate your business with. Seth Godin’s saying: “people like us do things like this” come to mind. In his book, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, John C. Maxwell defines “The Law of Identity” which states that shared values define the team or for that matter the whole business. He says: “Just as our personal values influence and guide an individual’s behaviour, organisational values influence and guide the business’s behaviour” and “Values help set the standard for a business’s performance”.
I received Brené Brown’s book, Dare to Lead, as a Christmas present this year. I was intrigued by her research on behaviours and cultural issues that leaders identified as getting in their way in organisations around the world. The 9th issue states: “Organisational values are gauzy and assessed in terms of aspirations rather than actual behaviours that can be taught, measured, and evaluated”. At SlightlySkew we believe that if you cannot measure it, it probably doesn’t exist and reading this was music in my ears. In order to protect your culture that is directly related to your core values this becomes very, very important. It has to be built into your performance management system.
Core values and aspirations are related concepts but refer to different aspects of an organisation’s beliefs and goals. Core values are the foundational principles that guide behaviour and decision-making, representing the inherent beliefs of the business. Aspirations, on the other hand, are forward-looking goals and ambitions that reflect what one hopes to achieve in the future. While core values provide a moral and ethical framework, aspirations drive motivation and goal-setting to realize a desired future state.
It’s important to note that measuring core values is not an exact science, and results may be influenced by various factors, including social desirability bias. Combining multiple methods, both quantitative and qualitative, can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of an organisation’s core values. Additionally, values are dynamic and may evolve over time, so periodic assessments may be necessary to capture any changes in priorities and beliefs.
